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Legacy: Another World
Legacy: Another World - Chapter 43 [Shin Arc End]

Legacy: Another World - Chapter 43 [Shin Arc End]

Shun POV:

Pulzi folded her arms over her long open jacket. A minute passed before her controlled voice entered the atmosphere again.

“Hold my hand.”

I got to my feet and extended my hand toward her. Pulzi’s pupils dilated, taken aback by the willingness I was showing her.

“...Hm.”

She took her time inching forward, shifting her gaze from my feet to my hand to my eyes in a constant loop. Once she was satisfied, Pulzi’s hand grasped mine. The tightness of her grip contained her deeper feelings beyond the marvel she expressed at the contact between us.

Pulzi lifted my hand up and tilted it before a short tongue poked out of her round lips. She licked the back of my hand in a circular motion, prompting the platform to creak in response. Several clicks echoed across the darkness now that the hidden condition had been completed.

“This is a friendship bond.”

I smacked her hand away and grabbed this damn monster by the neck.

“Friendship bond? Did I not just tell you that I was going to kill you?”

Blood trickled out of the sides of her mouth from the additional force I applied.

“It’s the hidden... condition. If we are friends here, then the Boss Status is shifted to one of the reinforcements in the room...”

Extra pressure crushed down on her windpipes. I knew Pulzi was different; that was why I brought her here, but she still thought she could hide things from me?

“Ugh...!”

“Say the rest.”

There were multiple possibilities of what the drawback to this shift in status could be, and I was hoping it wasn’t the one that I had singled out with the highest likelihood.

“Along with a... portion of... my powe—“

I dashed her useless body into the side of the wall. The entire space shook, but that wasn’t enough to calm the annoyance within.

“First, the party. Now, the Boss Monster. What’s next? Huh? What’s next?!!”

I flickered forward and grabbed her face by the cheeks before pulling Pulzi out of the cratered earth. My fist shot past her head; it crashed into the wall to escape the effects of gravity.

“Pulzi... You were good enough, but now...”

I brought her face closer to mine.

“You’re not.”

“Keuk... I... need time...”

Her weak eyes pleaded for me to be understanding, but I couldn't care less about what she wanted. All that mattered to me was whether she was worth waiting on or not.

In any story that was actually good, it was never easy to get back one’s cultivation, even more so if it was given up by choice. For Pulzi to be confident she could recover her power with time meant that she knew of a method that made reasonable sense.

There was also the possibility of Pulzi grasping at straws in order to survive, but that didn’t fit her character. Though these were only assumptions, they seemed plausible enough to at least consider.

“Trust... me...”

“What do you think my reply is to that dumb statement of yours?”

The corners of Pulzi’s piercing blue eyes turned toward the darkness below before she parted her lips.

“I trust... no one...”

“You have a brain at least.”

I threw her down to the platform, but this time, Pulzi was visibly shaken. She refused to stand up, choosing to sit on the ground as I landed some metres away from her.

Whether she was being submissive in order to pacify my anger or trying to find favour in my sight, it made no difference to me.

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“Pulzi, how will you prevent yourself from becoming the Boss Monster again? Isn’t it decided by whose strongest?”

“...Is everyone at the top the strongest in human societies?”

My eyes narrowed to thin slits at her reasoning. Pulzi avoided my gaze, but the slight danger I sensed from her couldn’t be ignored. It was also a deflection since she had just given up a portion of her power, no longer making her the strongest monster in this dungeon. In other words, she wanted me to be aware of her mental capabilities to establish a closer connection.

“You’re a bit too smart, Pulzi.”

Despite the deeper meaning behind my words, her lips formed a bitter smile.

“I read... books left behind by you humans. You saw the rest of my kind...”

Lanwa.

According to Byeol, they were a monster race that only appeared in B Rank dungeons and above. Their thin hair was long and dragged behind their small stature. It draped over their face, bundling together to only allow dregs of light to pierce through the thick curtain. Long dark jackets hid limbs able to elongate to impressive lengths. They were incapable of uttering a normal sentence without bursting the eardrums of others nearby; these were the features of a Lanwa.

It was difficult to identify the difference between the two sexes unless their jackets were unzipped. Based on all the information I had obtained, I surmised that this was either due to their larynx, or voice box, being damaged by their constant shouts, or a weak hearing ability that made it difficult for them to speak.

Lanwa weren’t smart. Not only were their attack patterns beyond basic, but they also rushed into battle without strategy. Instead, relying on their long limbs and Lanwa Style to pummel the enemy.

This dungeon would have been a disappointment if it wasn’t for Pulzi.

[The Mission Log has been updated.]

[Mission: Pulzi’s Only Friend

Difficulty: A+

Pulzi has opened up to someone for the first time in her life. Spare Pulzi, be nice to Pulzi, and don’t hurt Pulzi.

Reward: Pulzi’s Astronomical Growth + Pulzi’s Enlightenment + Pulzi’s Freedom.

Failure: Null.]

I sat back down and rested my arm over my knee once more. Pulzi’s eyes darted around the space, often resting on me before she would crawl a few centimetres forward.

The distance between us shrunk to a few metres when I parted my lips.

“Are you worth it?”

The Reavers had impressed me, but even they fell short when compared to that Goblin Warlock. However, Pulzi was on her level.

“My soul... isn’t like yours... but... you shouldn’t treat me any less...”

“!”

A memory resurfaced from the darkness, blocking out the desperation in Pulzi’s eyes. It was of my mother feeding a starved cat crying out for help in the heavy rain.

“Mum... I’m cold...”

Another sneeze was drowned out by the downpour as I clung to my mother’s arm. Despite the weather, there was always a faint heat that warmed the area around her.

“Then how cold do you think this poor cat is, Shun?”

She wrapped her large coat around me, forcing the shivers to die down. The added warmth wasn’t what surprised me in that moment. It was the fact that my mother was stroking the cat’s head.

She was allergic to them.

The cat closed its eyes; they curved upward, embracing the care that it had been shown while others rushed to escape the rain.

“It’s... cold too, Mum.”

Her lips formed a gentle smile, and I felt guilty for only thinking about myself.

“God entrusted us with his creations. We should care for them well.”

My mother picked the cat up, shocking me again, since severe rashes began to break out across her fair skin. I walked down the pavement by her side with a bright smile on my face, because I knew...

My mother was the best.

“You’re so kind, Mum. I want to be like you when I grow up!”

The memory faded, and my head fell with it. Solace was unable to embrace me for long before two fuchsia eyes ripped her arms away. They reminded me of the pain—the torture I was put through by her hands.

“I’LL KILL YOU!!!”

‘Chloe Ravendawn. Chloe Ravendawn. CHLOE RAVENDAWN!!!’

Sweat poured down my face until it washed away Chloe’s image with it. Her time would come soon enough. I swivelled my eyes toward Pulzi, who shrank all the way back to the edge of the platform.

Fear robbed her open mouth of any words. Terror pushed the tears to the corner of her eyes, but understanding is what caused them to spill over.

I got to my feet when Pulzi pressed her forehead against the platform. Perspiration mixed in with tears that drenched the surrounding area.

“I-I... don’t want to die... P-please...”

Her small body shook all over, trembling like an unwanted child shunned by their peers.

“Get up.”

Pulzi raised her head. She stumbled to her feet; the tears flowed without rest.

“Please... I’m sorry... Please don’t hurt me... I’m sorry... I’ll leave you alone... I won’t bother anyone...”

The light in her eyes flickered in and out as she gripped her arm tight. Ostracization wasn’t limited to humans; it could happen to animals and monsters just the same. Pulzi was proof of that.

But... I... didn’t care.

I shifted into a stance while she bit her quivering lip.

“Learn well. Hide well. Live well. Pulzi... We won’t meet again.”

***

[Your party has cleared the dungeon. A gate has been summoned inside the Boss Room.]

The concealed wall was lonely but safe. There, no one would hurt her. There, no one would treat her any less.

“Shun! Are you alright?”

Phoebe grabbed hold of my arm, not wanting me to shrug her off like I had done earlier. I shifted my gaze down to her hand before looking into the genuine worry that laced her amber eyes.

“I’m fine.”

I took my time removing her grip and pushing it into her chest. Phoebe’s eyes watered at the expression written across my face.

“...Shun?”

A blanket of darkness hid everything apart from two jet-black eyes. I ignored the concern of Aiden, Katherine and Gerard, staring right ahead at the young woman in the far distance.

A thick blush wrapped around the bridge of her nose. It highlighted the glowing of her fuchsia eyes that spiralled; they bulged with a sadistic level of excitement and glee.

‘Only you matter.’

Bloodlust exploded from the body, honed to do one thing and one thing only. There were two targets, but there was only one that took priority first.

‘You will die by my hands, Chloe Ravendawn.’

I walked through the whirlpool of white light without looking back.